Slumping Kings Fire Murray

King management reacted to the team’s downward spiral by firing Coach Andy Murray on Tuesday with 12 games left in the regular season.

John Torchetti, a former assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, will take over as interim coach. The Kings also fired assistant coach John Van Boxmeer but retained assistants Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett.

The move caught players by surprise and comes with the Kings struggling to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs. They have lost five of their last seven games and were passed by the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, dropping them to ninth in the Western Conference and out of a playoff spot.

“Ultimately, I felt I had to make this coaching change or we weren’t going to get this turned around,” General Manager Dave Taylor said. “I haven’t liked the direction of our team the last 20 to 25 games. I don’t think we’re playing with the same urgency and passion we had the first part of the season.”

The Kings were routed, 5-0, by the Colorado Avalanche on Monday at Staples Center and began a four-day break between games on Tuesday. The Kings face Nashville on Saturday at home, then go on a trip to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

“When the team struggles like this, something has got to happen sooner or later,” assistant captain Luc Robitaille said. “You can’t fire every player, so sometimes the coach gets the brunt.... For us, the most important thing is to make the playoffs.”

The Kings’ season began with those expectations, as a new collective bargaining agreement left management confident they could compete with the elite teams -- King Chief Executive Tim Leiweke said they had waited five years to have a better CBA in place.

The first two months seemed to support that notion. But the Kings’ fortunes have been falling for two months.

After beating the Phoenix Coyotes on Jan. 5, the Kings sat atop the Pacific Division, with the Dallas Stars four points behind. Since that time, the Kings have a 10-14-3 record and have beaten only two teams that currently hold playoff spots during that stretch. They have not only fallen 14 points behind the surging Stars but have slipped behind the Mighty Ducks in the division standings.

“The energy and emotion didn’t seem to be where it was the first half of the year,” Taylor said. “We need that. We’re not the most skilled team in the NHL. We have to overcome that by being the harder-working team every night.

“I’m not letting the players off the hook here. We need the players to be better. Ultimately, we’ll all be held accountable.”

Murray said that, although there was speculation he might be fired, he was surprised when the word came Tuesday.

“I think the decision was one Dave didn’t want to make, yet felt he needed to do it,” Murray said. “I respect Dave and [owner Phil] Anschutz and I am thankful for the opportunity they gave me here. Dave wants this team to do well and felt this was necessary. I don’t have to agree with him, but he felt it was.”

Although changing coaches this late in the season is unusual, it is not unprecedented. The New Jersey Devils fired Robbie Ftorek and promoted assistant coach Larry Robinson with eight games remaining in the 1999-2000 season. The Devils went on to win the Stanley Cup.

More housecleaning may come if the Kings don’t make the playoffs. Taylor has one year left on his contract and could be held accountable. A trade for Jeremy Roenick backfired. Valeri Bure, signed as a free agent, did not play a game during the regular season because of a back injury. Mathieu Garon, acquired in a trade, has yet to establish himself as a top-flight goaltender.

The Kings also have 12 players on the roster who will either be restricted or unrestricted free agents after this season.

“I think Dave is sending a message to the team also,” assistant captain Craig Conroy said. “Everyone said, ‘It’s the coach, it’s the coach,’ Well, the coach is gone. We have 12 games left and we have to win.... The finger was pointing at Andy, that was the easy move. If we don’t win, the finger is going to be pointed at the players.”

Torchetti, who was out of hockey and living in the Boston area this season, was an assistant with the Florida Panthers in 2003-04, during which he was the team’s interim head coach for 27 games. He spent the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Taylor said Torchetti would be among those interviewed for the job after the season.

“Andy was a very demanding coach and that’s part of his success,” Taylor said. “He brought a lot of passion to the job and has done a great job.”

But, Taylor said, “I felt hearing something different, hearing a fresh voice, would be refreshing for this team.”

Murray was the Kings’ coach for seven seasons, including the lockout year. He holds the franchise record with 215 career victories. He also holds the franchise record with 207 losses, which included five overtime and shootout losses this season.

The Kings reached the Stanley Cup playoffs his first three seasons, but won only one playoff series. The last three seasons, the Kings struggled, particularly toward the end of the season.

That included a complete collapse in 2003-04, when the Kings lost their last 11 games.

The Kings could point to injuries in recent seasons, a problem that carried over to this season.

But Murray’s heavy-handed style seemed to wear on players.

That was all in the past. King players were already starting to look forward.

“Dave felt he needed to make a change,” Conroy said. “This is now crunch time.”

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On the throne

The winningest coaches in the Kings’ history (minimum 82 games):

*--* COACH (YEARS) W-L-T PCT Tom Webster (1989-92) 115-94-31 544 Andy Murray (1999-2006) 215-207-58* 541 Bob Pulford (1972-77) 178-150-68 535 Robbie Ftorek (1987-89) 65-56-11 534 Bob Berry (1978-81) 107-94-39 527

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* Murray’s record includes five overtime losses in ‘05-06.

KINGS’ INTERIM COACH

* Torchetti served as interim coach of the Florida Panthers late in the 2003-04 season. Posted a 10-12-5 record.

* Was an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons and started the 2003-04 season as a Panther assistant before being promoted in February 2004.

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Fade away

On Jan. 5, the Kings beat Phoenix, 4-0, to move into second place in the Western Conference. They have since fallen to ninth. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.

*--* TIME SPAN RECORD 1st 43 games 27-14-2 Last 27 games 10-14-3 OVERALL 37-28-5

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